Tag Archives: D4

  1. Home
  2. Posts tagged "D4"
    3. (Page 4)
Loading
loading..

Steel Manufacturing Research

Art, Design & Fashion Studios

Art presents a different way of looking at things than science; 

one which preserves the mystery of things without undoing the mystery.

— Sir Roger Scruton

 

 

NFPA 1 Second Draft Meeting (A2026) June 2 – 3, 2025

“Interior de Ateliê” 1898 Rafael Frederico

We are guided by four interdependent titles that set the standard of care for safety and sustainability of occupancies supporting the fine arts in education communities.

(1)  Chapter 43: Spraying, Dipping and Coating Using Flammable or Combustible Material of NFPA 1: Fire Code.   As a “code” the public has free access to the current 2021 Edition , and Chapter 43 at the link below:

NFPA 1 Fire Code / Chapter 43 Spraying, Dipping and Coating Using Flammable or Combustible Materials

You get a sense of the back-and-forth among the technical committee members from the transcripts of committee activity linked below:

First Revisions Report (282 pages)

Our interest lies in fire safety provisions for educational occupancies with activity involving paint, chemicals used with paint (art studios) and Class III combustible materials (garment design & prototyping).

(2) NFPA also has another title — NFPA 33 Standard for Spray Application Using Flammable or Combustible Materials — provides more detail for instructional and facility maintenance operations activity.

(3) NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, much of which is derived from NFPA 1 (See: “How the Fire Code and Life Safety Code Work Together“)

(4) Finally, the International Code Council develops a competitor title — 2021 International Fire Code — which also provides fire safety standards for art, design and fashion studio safety.  The IFC is developed in the Group A tranche of titles:

2021/2022 Code Development Group A

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

We encourage direct participation by education industry user-interests in the ICC and the NFPA code development process.  A user interest in education community would have a job title similar to the following: Principal, Dean, President, Chief of Business Operations, Facility Manager, Trade Shop Foreman.

Harvard University

We maintain all four titles identified in this post on the standing agenda of our Prometheus (fire safety) and Fine Arts colloquia.   See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

Issue: [10-31] [16-64]

Category: Fire Safety

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Josh Evolve, Marcelo Hirschler

More

Northeastern University: Safety Guide for Art Studios

Princeton University: Art Safety

University of Chicago Art Studio Safety Policy

 

Redivivus

Today we pick through the literature for best practice in recycling enterprises in education communities.  We have been keeping pace with the evolution of regulations in this domain for over 15 years now.  Much like the security zietgeist the number of organizations involved in standards setting and conformance will likely surprise you.  It is a cross cutting topic with a growing body of expert agencies claiming some part of the domain.

We will also pick through a few representative legislative proposals.   Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

Art Wall from Recycled Materials 2017 Barbara Rucci

Cloud based smart recycling bin for waste classification

Research on recycling of industrial waste

Smart Recycling Machine to collect the wasted Non-woven Fabric Face Mask

Curriculum for Effective Recycling

Readings / Evaluating Water-Damaged Electrical Equipment

*May 10, 2021

We have been keeping pace with the evolution of regulations in this domain for over 15 years now.  Hydra-like growth in policy think tanks and standards-developing organizations expanding into this domain will likely surprise you.  For example, in no particular order:

College and University Recycling Association

NSF International Joint Committee on Environmental Leadership Standard for Servers

Sustainability Leadership for Photovoltaic Modules

Reconditioned Electrical Equipment

Sustainable Electronics Recycling International

Environmental Protection Agency: Land, Waste, and Cleanup Topics

As in other domains, the private standards system competes with government “influencers” and incumbent proxies who make markets through legislation.

Specific requirements must be met for recycling to be economically feasible and environmentally effective. These include an adequate source of recyclates, a system to extract those recyclates from the waste stream, a nearby factory capable of reprocessing the recyclates, and a potential demand for the recycled products. These last two requirements are often overlooked—without both an industrial market for production using the collected materials and a consumer market for the manufactured goods, recycling is incomplete and in fact only “collection”.

Stairway to Sustainability

Electronic Equipment Recycling

The Impact of E-Waste / Student Art Guide

We are observers in the development of a new ANSI accredited electronic equipment recycling standard  produced with the leadership of NSF International; a Michigan-based standards developer (founded at the University of Michigan) not far from our own offices and one of the largest in the world. 

The electronic recycling space is growing quickly — reaching far upstream the value chain into how electronic equipment is designed in the first place.  An overview of the project is available in the link below:

Joint Committee on Environmental Leadership Standard for Servers

A public edition is linked below:

NSF/ANSI 426 – 2019 Environmental Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility Assessment of Servers

This standard moved swiftly to market under NSF International’s continuous maintenance process.  We bring it to the attention of the education facilities industry as a recommendation for lowering #TotalCostofOwnership.   Participation as a User interest in American national standards development reduces “wheel reinvention” in which many recycling workgroups unnecessarily start from scratch, eliminates the need to attend costly workshops hosted by trade associations and significantly minimizes destructive competition.  

This title is on the standing agenda of our Redivivus colloquium.   Since our interest lies primarily with electrotechnology we collaborate with the IEEE Standards Association.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

 

Issue: [14-74], [15-147], [15-148]

Category: Electrical, Telecommunications, Interior 

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Richard Robben

Archive / NSF 426 Electronic Equipment Recycling

 

 

Kitchen Wiring

“Le Coin de Cuisine” | 1883 Edwin Deakin

Education communities are stewards of hundreds of commercial-class kitchens in which the proximate risk of electrical energy must be managed — water spills and grease, fires, worn electrical cords on countertop equipment, faulty wiring or equipment, damaged outlets or connectors, and improperly used or damaged extension cords among them.   The safety and sustainability rules for this occupancy class is identified as Assembly Group A-2 in Section 303 of the International Building Code

We explore recent transcripts of expert committee activity in NEC Article 210 and provide links to video commentary.

Public comment on the Second Draft of the 2026 NEC will be received until April 18.  We typically coordinate our effort with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee.  The workspace set up for generating proposals can be found in the link below.

2026 National Electrical Code Workspace

2023 National Electrical Code (Free Access)

Other access portals:

UpCodes: 2020 NEC

Texas Electrical Code

California Electrical Code

Michigan Electrical Code: Part 8 Rules

Transcripts of the 2023 NEC are linked below:

Public Input Report (Part 1)

Public Input Report (Part 2)

Public Comment Report

We examine transcripts to track technical specifics that apply to student accommodation kitchens (on and off campus), university-affiliated hospital kitchens and sport arenas.

Relevant Research:

Smart Kitchen: Real Time Monitoring of Kitchen through IoT

Design of Chinese Smart Kitchen Based on Users’ Behavior

Intelligent kitchen management system based on gas safety

A Futuristic Kitchen Assistant – Powered by Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

A Multi-radar Architecture for Human Activity Recognition in Indoor Kitchen Environments

Code ignis MMXXIV: Fire Lanes & Parking

NFPA 1 Chapter 18 – Fire Department Access and Water Supply
Public Input on the 2027 Edition closes June 4, 2025

Extinguishing A fire at the Equitable Building skyscraper in New York City, January 1912.

The parent title in the NFPA catalog — NFPA 1 — sets standards for fire lanes by addressing them within various chapters and sections; depending on the specific aspects of fire protection, access, and safety they pertain to. Here are some of the key sections and chapters in NFPA 1 that may include relevant information regarding fire lanes:

  1. Chapter 18: New High-Rise Buildings: This chapter may include requirements related to access for firefighting operations, which could encompass provisions for fire lanes.
  2. Chapter 20: New Educational and Day-Care Occupancies: Requirements related to access for emergency responders in educational facilities, including provisions for fire lanes, may be addressed in this chapter.
  3. Chapter 22: Existing Educational and Day-Care Occupancies: Similar to Chapter 20, this chapter may contain provisions for existing educational facilities regarding fire protection and access.
  4. Chapter 24: New Residential Board and Care Occupancies: Requirements for access and fire protection in residential board and care occupancies, including provisions for fire lanes, may be found in this chapter.
  5. Chapter 30: New Mercantile Occupancies: This chapter may include provisions related to access and fire protection in mercantile occupancies, which could involve requirements for fire lanes.
  6. Chapter 32: Existing Mercantile Occupancies: Similar to Chapter 30, this chapter may address requirements for existing mercantile occupancies, including provisions for fire lanes.

Since NFPA 1 covers a wide range of fire safety topics, including building design, fire protection systems, and emergency procedures, specific requirements related to fire lanes may be distributed throughout the document rather than consolidated in a single section. It’s important to carefully review the relevant chapters and sections of NFPA 1 to ensure compliance with applicable requirements for fire lane design, construction, and maintenance.

Best practice for determining snow zones, as the criteria for designating these zones can vary depending on factors such as geography, climate, population density, infrastructure, and available resources. However, municipalities typically develop their own criteria and guidelines based on these factors to create effective snow removal plans.

Common principles and factors that many municipalities consider when determining snow zones, as mentioned in the previous response. These include weather patterns, topography, traffic volume and patterns, residential density, critical infrastructure, public safety considerations, and feedback from residents and stakeholders.

Some municipalities may also adopt best practices and recommendations from organizations such as the American Public Works Association (APWA) or the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) to inform their snow removal planning processes. These organizations may offer guidance on snow zone designations, prioritization of routes, and effective snow removal techniques based on industry standards and research.

Ultimately snow zones respond to the specific needs and characteristics of each municipality, with the goal of efficiently managing winter weather events to ensure public safety and mobility.

Code ignis MMXXVII

Campus Micromobility

Artist: Syd Mead | Photo Credit: United States Steel

We find town-gown political functionaries working to accommodate students traveling on micro-scooters.  Several non-profit trade associations compete for “ownership” of some part of the economic activity associated with micromobility.   One of several domain incumbents is SAE International.   Here is how SAE International describes the micromobility transformation:

“…Emerging and innovative personal mobility devices, sometimes referred to as micromobility, are proliferating in cities around the world. These technologies have the potential to expand mobility options for a variety of people. Some of these technologies fall outside traditional definitions, standards, and regulations. This committee will initially focus on low-speed micromobility devices and the technology and systems that support them that are not normally subject to the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or similar regulations. These may be device-propelled or have propulsion assistance. They are low-speed devices that have a maximum device-propelled speed of 30 mph. They are personal transportation vehicles designed to transport three or fewer people. They are consumer products but may be owned by shared- or rental-fleet operators. This committee is concerned with the eventual utilization and operational characteristics of these devices, and how they may be safely incorporated in the transportation infrastructure. This committee will develop and maintain SAE Standards, Recommended Practices, and Information Reports within this classification of mobility. The first task of the committee will be to develop a taxonomy of low-speed micromobility devices and technologies. Currently, many of these terms are not consistently named, defined, or used in literature and practice. This task will also help refine the scope of the committee and highlight future work….”

Micromobility standards development requires sensitivity to political developments in nearly every dimension we can imagine.

University of Toledo

Specifically, we follow developments in SAE J3194: Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Micromobility Devices.  Getting scope, title, purpose and definitions established is usually the first step in the process of developing a new technical consensus product.   From the project prospectus:

This Recommended Practice provides a taxonomy and definitions for terms related to micromobility devices. The technical report covers low-speed micromobility devices (with a maximum device-propelled speed of 30 mph) and the technology and systems that support them that are not normally subject to the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or similar regulations. These devices may be device-propelled or have propulsion assistance. Micromobility devices are personal transportation vehicles designed to transport three or fewer people. They are consumer products but may be owned by shared- or rental-fleet operators. This Recommended Practice does not provide specifications or otherwise impose requirements of micromobility devices.

 

SAE standards action appears on the pages linked below:

SAE Standards Development Home Page

SAE Standards Works

 

Apart from the rising level of discussion on vehicle-to-grid technologies (which we track more closely with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee) there is no product at the moment that business units in the education industry can comment upon.   Many relevant SAE titles remain “Works in Progress”.  When a public commenting opportunity on a candidate standard presents itself we will post it here.

We host periodic Mobility colloquia; SAE titles standing items on the agenda.  See our CALENDAR for the next online session; open to everyone.

University of Michigan Ann Arbor

Issue: [19-130]

Category: Electrical, Facility Asset Management, Transportation

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Paul Green, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben

 

 

LEARN MORE:

SAE International ABOUT

Inspiring a College Campus to Design, Create, and Build Green Small Engine Vehicles 2009-32-0107

All-Electric School Bus for Total Zero Emission

Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals

Because of the robustness of the environmental safety units in academia we place this title in the middle of our stack of priorities. Laboratory safety units are generally very well financed because of the significance of the revenue stream they produce.  We place higher priority on standby power systems to the equipment and, in many cases, the subjects (frequently animals)

Chemical laboratory, Paris. 1760

 

We were advocating #TotalCostofOwnership concepts in this document before our work was interrupted by the October 2016 reorganization (See ABOUT).   Some of that work was lost so it may be wise to simply start fresh again, ahead of today’s monthly teleconference on laboratory safety codes and standards.  The scope of NFPA 45 Standard on Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals is very large and articulated so we direct you to its home page.

Suffice to say that the conditions under which NFPA 45 may be applied is present in many schools, colleges and universities — both for instructional as well as academic research purposes.  Some areas of interest:

  • Laboratory Unit Hazard Classification
  • Laboratory Unit Design and Construction
  • Laboratory Ventilating Systems and Hood Requirements
  • Educational and Instructional Laboratory Operations

We find considerable interaction with consensus documents produced by the ICC, ASHRAE and NSF International.

It is noteworthy that there are many user-interest technical committee members on this committee from the State University of New York, the University of Kentucky, West Virginia University, the University of Texas, University of California Berkeley and the University of Texas San Antonio; thereby making it one of only a few ANSI accredited standards with a strong user-interest voice from the education.  Most of them are conformance/inspection interest — i.e. less interested in cost reduction — but they are present nonetheless.  We pick our battles.

The 2023 revision is in an advanced stage of development and on the agenda of the June 2023 Technical Standards Agenda.  It will likely be approved for release to the public later this year.

We always encourage direct participation.  You may communicate directly with Sarah Caldwell or Laura Moreno at the National Fire Protection Association, One Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02169-7471 United States.  TEL: 1 800 344-3555 (U.S. & Canada); +1 617 770-3000 (International)

This standard is on the standing agenda of our periodic Laboratory standards teleconference.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to anyone.

Issue: [19-60]

Category: Prometheus, Laboratory, Risk

Colleagues: Richard Robben, Mark Schaufele

 

Solberg

Standards South Dakota

 

Welcome

Standards Michigan Group, LLC

2723 South State Street | Suite 150
Ann Arbor, MI 48104 USA

888-746-3670

DIRECTIONS

icon icon
icon icon
icon icon  
Layout mode
Predefined Skins
Custom Colors
Choose your skin color
Patterns Background
Images Background
Standards Michigan
error: Content is protected !!
Skip to content